Tuesday, July 26, 2011

So, it's time for my weekly reflux update. I'm not sure why I feel the need to keep posting about this horrible issue that drives our family up the wall, but maybe I will want to look back on these notes when I am trying to decide on whether or not to have another baby, haha! I'M ADDING SOME PICTURES TO MAKE THIS SAD POST A LITTLE HAPPY!!

So, after Campbell's 4 month appointment she started acting fussy, as we expected. Well, the fussiness turned into lethargy and evenually a 103 degree fever. We called the after hours nurse and they said to keep giving her tylenol and room temp baths to get her fever down. She didn't seem worried, so we weren't either. Friday morning, Dr. Cortopassi called me bright and early (I was on my way to work) and said he was a little worried about the fever and wanted her in to check for a UTI or ear infection. Thankfully, everything looked normal and we just have a baby that reacts badly to shots.

So anyways, Campbell, obviously, didn't eat well for a couple of days after her shots. We were not worried in the slightest because we knew that her fever was high and causing her not to eat... Well, the fever went down, but the not eating stayed the same. It eventually progressed to Campbell eyeing the bottle and screaming or screaming when I held her (because I smell like her breakfast, lunch and dinner!) All of the previous reflux signs were back (i.e. arching of the back, turning her head from side to side, screaming when the bottle came close to her mouth, projectile vomiting, etc.) I was a wreck and crying everytime the 3 hour mark came up knowing that she was going to fight me again. Eventually, my mom just had to come over and feed her (or try at least) because I was afraid Campbell was feeding off of my anxiety.

Fast forward to yesterday. I called her GI doctor the second they opened and they explained that vaccines can cause reflux to come back with a vengence. Plus, Campbell had already shown some signs of needing to increase her dosage due to a growth spurt. So.... the new plans is: Staying on the same dose of Prevacid, increasing the dosage of Bethanechol to 1.0 mL 3x a day, and another round of Carafate (2.5 mL 4x a day) because we think the ulcers are back. In addition (thanks to some great advice from a trusted friend... Dana;) we have started her on probiotics to help level out her tummy and GI system. Finally, I have put in a call to a pediatric chiropractor to see if they can help out in any way. At this point, I am willing to try ANYTHING!!!

Today was a little bit better of a day. She ate 3 ounces at each feeding, which was an improvement from the 1.5 or 2 ounces from the previous days... Still not back up to her normal 5-6 ounces every 3 hours. Hopefully, we will work back up to that.

Sorry if this is boring to the majority of people, but I am want to keep this for myself!!! Also, if you have/had a child with significant reflux, please offer up some advice that has helped your child. **Don't want to seem ungrateful for any advice, but we have already tried rice cereal (no longer taking), Axid, sitting up after meals, small frequent meals, eating in a boppy or bouncy seat.... All of the normal ideas!! **

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Wow! This should have been posted a long time ago! Oh well! Better late than never!

We went to Nashville over Memorial Day weekend to get away before I started back to work from maternity leave. It was a nice getaway with our little family and offered much relaxation! Clayton, honestly, planned this trip so I wouldn't sit around our house and mope all weekend before I went back to work, haha :) We stayed at the Opryland Hotel for 3 nights, had lots of nice dinners, great shopping, and lots of family fun. This trip also marked a special occasion in that this was Campbell's first family vacation! **I am just now remembering that she also accomplished two other firsts on this trip! She laughed out loud for the first time on this trip and she went swimming for the first time!**

Instead of boring you with details, I will just post what you are really looking for.... Pictures!!!

Daddy and Campbell in the hotel!Our family walking around the hotel... and shopping!Campbell on the way to dinner!The Opryland Hotel!Another family shot at the hotel!Our family at the Parthenon!The ParthenonCampbell and tummy time!

While we were in Nashville, Uncle Ben and Aunt Courtney just happened to be vacationing there at the same time! Of course, Ben made Cam a little mad!!Yummy Gigi's cupcakes!!!

Campbell's first time in a pool!! She didn't seem to like or or not like it... She was typical Campbell and was just....chill.... :)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

So, quick update! Today, my mom took Campbell for her 4 month well baby appointment. Unfortunately, I couldn't take her because of work and I have ZERO vacation or sick days. I hate that I couldn't be there for her, but I took care of her when I got home from work!

We were all so excited to hear about her HUGE weight gain! I guess we are finally doing something right! Let's see, what else!

-Campbell got 4 shots and the rotovirus oral vaccine. Mom said she did so much worse this time and screamed until she was as red as an apple. She even burst a few blood vessels in her eye! So pitiful! Don't worry! Mommy and Daddy gave her lots of attention today and held her until she fell asleep.- Dr. Cortopassi was so happy with her developmental milestones! He said she is very ahead of schedule with her motor development! YAY!! Mommy is a good OT, haha! She is close to sitting independently, is able to roll both ways (and will roll all the way across her room), is army crawling, etc. -Campbell has a pretty good size birthmark on her left leg behind her knee that is about 2 inches long. We have been a little concerned by it because it has grown very fast. After looking at it, he has referred us to a pediatric dermatologist to check it out. He isn't too concerned, but he wants to keep quarterly tabs on it and get the initial boundary size for comparison. Clayton and I joked that Campbell is going to go to all of the specialty doctors that are available until we see all of them or Mommy and Daddy are broke!!! -Campbell is in the pre-teething stage!!! He thinks we should see a sharp tooth poking through in the next month or so! She seems too little to already have a tooth! -They discussed starting solids, and after discussing how she is FINALLY eating fairly normal, he thinks we should wait until 6 months or later to even THINK about solids. I completely agree and wasn't going to start them until around then.

I think that is about it! Our poor girl slept all day and then went to sleep at 7:15!! She is still sound asleep! I promise that I will update soon with our Nashville trip, our beach trip, Cam's baptism, and Dana's wedding weekend!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Here is the promised update on all things eating and weight gain!After Campbell had all of her tests at Children's South, we went for an appointment with a pediatric GI doctor, Dr. Cavender, to discuss her medication management and to get his input on what he thinks we should do. It was such a great appointment because we learned so much more about not only reflux, but also her avoidant eating habits. At that appointment, Campbell was 10 lbs 13 oz and 22 inches long. Long story short, he changed a few things with Cam.1. Medicine management: She is now on 3 medicines: -Previcid 2 times a day- he took her off of the Axid because it just wasn't strong enough to deal with the acid. -Bethanechol 4 times a day- We have now changed her dosage back to 2 times a day because she was dumping her feeds (pooping about 8-9 times a day... wayyy to much) -Carafate 4 times a day- He found ulcers in her esophagus, so this medicine acts as a bandaid and helps to heal the ulcers.2. We no longer put rice cereal into her bottles. He explained that her GI system was just too immature to handle the rice cereal and it was honestly doing more harm than help. He also explained that it was weighing down her stomach, causing her to eat a lot less than she should. However, the rice cereal has very little nutritional and caloric content, so it was pointless! So, we no longer put in any rice cereal and will probably skip this step when introducing solids. Rice cereal really is a pointless "solid" to introduc and really can constipate....

So, skip ahead a week... We went to the beach over 4th of July week and Campbell got a pretty bad cold. When we brought her into the pediatrician on July 5, she weighed 10 lbs 15 oz. She really should have gained more weight than 2 ounces in a week. So, Dr. Cortopassi thought that her Bethanechol was just too much (which is why we went down from 4x a day to 2x a day). In addition, he finally brought up the important point that my breastmilk may not have enough calories for Campbell.

**TMI WARNING**I'm not sure if I have explained this before, but I have a serious overabundance issue in terms of breastmilk prouction. At one time, I am able to pump about 16 ounces combined. Because of this, I have just been pumping until my containers fill up and just stopping. When I do this, I am only getting the fore milk and not getting any of the hind milk (or the "fatty cream") into the bottle. Meaning, Campbell has only been drinking skim milk essentially. So, he recommended that I go to Children's to get my milk tested for caloric count.

While I was there, I had to bring a bottle of the regular way I pump and then a bottle where I poured out the first ounce and a half. Once they ran the test on the milk, the number we were looking for was 20. The first bottle (the regular milk) was 17.1. The milk where I had poured out the first ounce and a half was 21. So, it was confirmed! So, from now on I pour out the first ounce and a half from both breasts and then only offer Campbell the last few ounces. In addition, the lactation consultant suggested that I put in 1-2 tsp of formula to add additional calories. That way, she is still getting the benefits from breastmilk, but also getting some extra calories from the added formula.

Whew! That was a lot to explain!!! Campbell goes back to the Dr. on July 21 for her 4 month checkup and immunizations (it was originally scheduled for her 4 month birthday, July 8th, but she was sick and I didn't want her to get shots at that time.) At that time, we REALLY hope to see a signficant increase in her weight gain. If not, I'm at a loss!! I have no idea what to try next. Her reflux is FINALLY under control, so the weight gain needs to follow! Please pray that this little bit will start to increase in weight gain!

I cannot believe that we are already here! As of Friday, July 8th, Campbell is 4 months old! I feel like she has changed the most this past month. I no longer think of her as an infant, but more of an interactive baby! What are you up do this month?

Campbell's stats:*Weight: 10 lbs 15 oz- 2nd Percentile..... This is the thorn in my rear end! Campbell's weight gain has been quite the journey, to say the least. However, I think we have FINALLY figured out a solution that will help with her weight gain. I'm going to follow-up this post with a post explaining just her eating and weight gain isses because it deserves a post for itself!!

*Diapers- Size 1- We are wearing both Pampers Swaddlers and Huggies, both fit very well! I don't see us growing out of this anytime soon.

*Clothes- Campbell is wearing 0-3 months and some 3 month clothes. She really fits best into 0-3 months, but I am SOOO sick of all of these clothes. When I was pregnant, everyone told me that I should get like 5 outfits in a newborn size and maybe 10 or so in 0-3 months because she would grow out of them so fast. HA!!! Who knew that she would still be wearing these sizes at 4 months old!!!!! Selfishly, I had so many 3 month summer outfits with her monogram and appliques made for her and she still can't wear them. I guess she can enjoy the crab outfits around Christmas.....

*Eats- Once again, I will go into more detail in the next post, but Campbell eats between 3-5 ounces of breastmilk every 3 hours and each bottle has 1-2 tsp of formula (NOT RICE CEREAL) in it to add calories. She typically eats between 20-25 ounces a day.

So what else are you doing this month!

-Cam is talking a lot more this month. Whenever she plays or is interacting with someone, she CONSTANTLY coos and laughs. It's so funny because she will occasionally make facial expressions like she is trying to get her point across, haha! For example, she will raise her eyebrows and squint her eyes at you like, "You got it, Momma??"

-She can now roll both ways, from tummy to back and from back to tummy. It just depends on her mood if she wants to roll. Sometimes, we will do tummy time or lay on her back for well over 30 minutes and she will just play and play without rolling. Other times, you can put her on her tummy or back and she will not stop rolling!

-Campbell is also rolling over to her tummy while in her swaddle, which freaks this mommy out! We will find her occasionally face down in her bed. Thank goodness for the Angelcare Monitor!!

- Campbell continues to love standing with assist ALL OF THE TIME! I think this is her preferred position. She is so super strong and really needs little assist to stand up.

- Campbell's neck strength is great! When transitioning from lying on her back to being pulled into a sitting position, Campbell always keeps her head level with her body, if not ahead of it. Her Nonnie (my mom) frequently comments that it looks like she is sitting up on her own!

- Campbell is finally purposefully grabbing for items! She will work for like 10 minutes to grab the hanging toys on her activity mat. She will coo and coo while she is slowly grabbing them. Then, when she finally grabs the toy, she will get a little upset that she can't let go, haha!

- Everything goes into this child's mouth! This can be any and all toys to your fingers. If I let her hold my fingers, she immediately pulls them to her mouth and goes to town sucking on them! She is also drooling like crazy!!! She has started doing this weird sucking thing with her mouth where she looks like she is making "kissy" lips, but sucking on the inside of her gums. We are thinking (and could most definitely be wrong) that she is in the process of teething and we will see some pearly whites in the next month or 2. We will see!

- Campbell is still sleeping through the night. Our bedtime routine is bath at about 7:00, lotion massage/getting ready for bed, bottle, and Bible story time. We typically get her down between 8:00 and 8:30. Clayton wakes her up at 5:00 am to give her 3 medicines and then feeds her at 5:30. She will usually go back to sleep until 8:30, which is her next feeding. However, on the week days I get her to her sitter or school (I refuse to call it daycare....) by 7:30, so this morning nap hasn't been quite as long. She naps during day at around 9:30, 12:30, and 3:30 for about an hour at each time. Lots of cat naps in between. One thing that I can 100% say is that this girl is a sleeper!!! Thank goodness that we have one easy thing since her feeding is so hard!

-Campbell takes naps at school only in the swing, which is shocking to Clayton and me!! She hates the swing at home!

-Campbell still LOVES her passy, but her hands are definitely coming in at a close second, especially during bath time. Campbell will shove her entire fist into her mouth!!

-We are now back up to 4-5 poopy diapers a day. This is definitely caused by her medicine (which I will explain!)

-Her eyes are still very, very blue! I really am shocked by this because neither Clay or my eyes are blue! Her hair is starting to grow back and it looks a little lighter brown than when she was first born!

-She still prefers me, Clayton, and her Nonnie over anyone!

-She has finally started laughing more consistently!

-Likes: Mommy and Daddy, Nonnie, her hands, the passy, tummy time, standing up, BEING HELD AND CUDDLED (this girl would be fine to be held 24 hours a day), her swadddle, bathtime, being outside, WATCHING TV, her cat rattle,eating

-Dislikes: being in her carseat (this is definitely changed!!), eating (haha, notice how this is under both likes and dislikes?), taking her medicine but this has definitely improved... That's about it! Campbell is a pretty happy girl!

We are loving your little personality this month, Cam-a-Lam!!! You LOVE to smile and talk to people and will get a little embarrassed or shy and bury your head into their shoulders. I think you are going to be the sweetest, most loving child! We love you more than anything else in the world!! Happy 4 months baby!!!

About Me

Hi Everyone! Clayton and I were married on September 2, 2006 in Birmingham. In 2007, we bought our first house in Gardendale, AL. We have two dogs, Bella and Charlotte, who are the loves of our lives! Thanks for reading!